Shoes are worn for the practical purpose of protecting one's feet, and for appearance as well. The soles of shoes vary in thickness and the materials thereof present a wide variety of color and texture. There are also specialty shoes and costume footwear that require protection and change in appearance, it being a general object of this invention to provide a shield for the protection of and to enhance the appearance of footwear while being worn by the user.
Shoe coverings are made of leather and plastic sheets and fabrics, the quality and durability of which varies with the purpose and use for which they are intended. For example, the uppers of shoes have been replaceable as by means of removable covers, for both protection and appearance, while the sole and heel portions or platforms of shoes are more utilitarian in nature and covers have not been available therefor. However, elevated platforms are being widely used and the sidewalls thereof afford an exposure than can be decorative and worthy of protection as well as selective changeability. It is to these ends therefore, that I provide a changeable cover for either protection or decoration of the shoe platform.
Heretofore, snaps, buttons, laces and buckles have been employed as the fastening means for securement of shoes and coverings therefor. At the very best, such fasteners are obvious additions to the shoe structure and do not necessarily enhance the designs or appearances thereof. In fact, extra fasteners are most often a detriment and are inherently cumbersome, it being an object of this invention to provide means by which a cover is removably applicable to a shoe without encumbering the same. With this invention, it is the platform which is shown to be protected, although it is to be understood that the means of cover application is also applicable to the uppers of shoes as well as to the platform or sole and heel.
This invention is particularly concerned with novelty shoes for entertainers and the like, such as for example to the ILLUMINATED FOOTWEAR as it is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,572 issued May 3, 1977 and comprised of a wedge-shaped platform for footwear having an illuminated sole portion operable for high intensity light emmission therefrom. It is an object to provide a decorative cover for this type of novelty shoe, a cover that can be readily applied and/or removed at the will of the wearer. With the present invention, a perimeter anchor seals and attaches the cover, with or without securement by means of snaps or other fasteners.